With a name that sounds like a 1973 Frank Zappa jam-session bootleg, Bob’s Fish & Seafood is just as inaccessible to the mainstream public, many of whom probably cruise by the bedraggled edifice a few times a month, totally unaware that, despite a brutally desolate location and desperately faded signage, deep inside Bob and his crew are cooking up some of the best dang fried catfish in the Metro.
Located at 3340 N. Kelley on a mostly barren row of surprisingly sparse blocks, Bob’s Fish & Seafood has been a decently-kept secret for many years now, plaintively offering plenty of fresh fish on ice such as ocean perch, whiting and tilapia, as well as more outré eats such as frog legs and alligator, for mostly competitive prices, with none of the pretension you’d find at the more upper-crust of local fishmongeries.
But, just from sitting there patiently in Bon’s storefront during lunchtime, watching the wheels go ‘round and ‘round, it was obvious around lunchtime the entire surrounding neighborhood will seemingly walk blocks, stand in line and wait a fair amount of time to fill up the lonely show and take Bob up on his daily deals on that grand Okie classic catfish, decidedly of the tried and true fried-to-a-hue variety, loaded with enough golden sides to even make Long John Silver jealous of the insurmountable cache of pirate booty coming his way.
Offering a fair assortment of different fish and shrimp deals, the lunch special, served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. is probably the best idea of what Bob’s is all about, loading that Styrofoam to-go box down with a good helping of prime-time catfish fillets, sensually coated and liberally bathed in their special seasoned cornmeal and paired off with a wide selection of equally-fried sides, in this case potato wedges, hush puppies and, as an added bonus, okra, okra and more okra ($9.99).